unless you found something in a really obscure journal, the evidence base is not there for artificial sweeteners being so unhealthy. There are many, many shady websites with dramatic claims, but they never seem to post any solid scientific evidence.

Great photo, really brings it home how bad soda is! Me, well I still drink Pepsi Max as it's still better than stuffing my face with chocolate, the Pepsi satisfies my cravings... having said that I have cut back A LOT, just a couple a night now if that.

unless you found something in a really obscure journal, the evidence base is not there for artificial sweeteners being so unhealthy. There are many, many shady websites with dramatic claims, but they never seem to post any solid scientific evidence.

You mean sites like Medicinenet?

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Aspartame is one of the most controversial artificial sweeteners. There are numerous web sites, books, and articles stating various reasons why aspartame should not be consumed. Some site studies to support their theories while others base their claims on industry-related conspiracies. One fact is that aspartame does get metabolized, meaning that it doesn't get excreted in the same form that it is when ingested. This is the reason why it can't be consumed by people with the metabolism disorder PKU. The following is a summary of some of the controversial dangers of consuming aspartame.

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The presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans. The majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), skin irritations (rash, hives, redness, itching, swelling), wheezing, cough, runny nose, chest pains, palpitations, anxiety, anger, moods swings, depression, and itchy eyes. The only way to be sure of the safety of sucralose is to have long-term studies on humans done.

I can go on all day with this, but I choose not to consume ARTIFICIAL sweeteners in my diet. The reality is, some of these sweeteners were pushed through quickly for approval by the FDA without adequate study.

FACT: There are numerous claims from people suffering side effects.

If a person chooses to be part of an experiment by ingesting artificial sweeteners, that's fine. In 50 years the world will know the deal. But there is enough "evidence" at the moment to be cautious at the least, while avoidance is probably best.

That's the word from authors of two new studies, presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised" Dr. Helen Hazuda, professor of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in a written statement. "They may be free of calories, but not of consequences."

Consequences like weight gain.

For one study, researchers at the center followed 474 diet soda drinkers, 65 to 74 years of age, for almost 10 years. They found that diet soda drinkers' waists grew 70 percent more than non-drinkers. Specifically, drinking two or more diet sodas a day busted belt sizes five times more than people who avoided the stuff entirely.

And as waist size grows, so do health risks - including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions.

Just how does diet soda make you fat? The other study may hold the answer. In it, researchers divided mice into two groups, one of which ate food laced with the popular sweetener aspartame. After three months, the mice eating aspartame-chow had higher blood sugar levels than the mice eating normal food. The authors said in a written statement their findings could "contribute to the associations observed between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans."

But how?

"Artificial sweeteners could have the effect of triggering appetite but unlike regular sugars they don't deliver something that will squelch the appetite," Sharon Fowler, obesity researcher at UT Health Science Center at San Diego and a co-author on both of these studies, told the Daily Mail. She also said sweeteners could inhibit brain cells that make you feel full.

So if sugar soda is no good, and diet soda isn't either - what should we be drinking?